Do heavy-duty corporate funders work against the grassroots organizations they’re supposed to benefit? Some people think so. They think Fashion Cares has way too pricey a ticket and that the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards 175 ducket price tag is out of line.
I was at the YWCA’s event last night, honouring seven spectacularly accomplished women, including my best friend Darlene Lawson, who was honoured for her work in social justice, and I say, “Take the money and run.”
Sure, I worried for days about what I was going to wear and I wasn’t too thrilled about forking over the dough, but this benefit isn’t geared towards entertaining grassroots activists and folks scrounging to cover the costs of life. Thirteen hundred guests, mostly very well heeled women – the words power suit totally get it – were there celebrating women’s achievements.
I love it when radical words come out of the mouths of bankers and lawyers. Close your eyes and you would have thought it was a meeting of the old International Women’s Day Committee.
The Y has been working for over 130 years to advance gender equity for women, providing housing and counselling services. Last night, in addition to the monies raised through the ticket price, guests handed over over $40,000 while they chowed down.
Better than a bake sale, I say.
